Friday, May 24, 2013

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS: File Form 21-0304

 
Vietnam Veterans of America Agent Orange/Dioxin Committee asks all the children (we suggest grandchildren also) of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange who are ill and/or suffering from a birth defect, learning disabilities, mental health illness, etc..to file a claim with the VA.

Please use VA Form 21-0304. This is the same form used for the children of women Vietnam veterans. Your claim will be denied, but it will cause a record to be established.
Once this is done, should the VA change it’s policies and allow male veterans’ children more than spina bifida as a presumptive for the veteran’s exposure to Agent Orange, we will then have recourse.

VA Form 21-0304

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

My son has horrendous, huge cysts on his back. His father, dropped Agent Orange from the plane's. He was born within a year of his father's return home.

Kelly Talty said...

I am the child of a Vietnam vet, although I am healthy I have a son, a niece, and a nephew with spina bifida and two sisters with severe health issues! I will make sure they all file!! OH and my Dad had numerous health issues and died at the ripe old age of 60!! I swear this crap just makes me so mad!! He had a contract to play baseball in the minor leagues and he gave that up to serve his country...for what??

Anonymous said...

He gave it up so the people could elect idiots like Clinton and Obama.

Anonymous said...

My father was exposed to agent orange, and I have a rare skin disease that causes large cysts, so far the doctors sat its cause is unknown...

Anonymous said...

I have been diagnosed with rsd reflex sympathetic dystrophy. My father served 2 terms in Vietnam. My brother was born with one leg bigger then the other. I have alot if health issues

Anonymous said...

My father was was in an area sprayed with agent orange 1965-66. He drank water from the rivers and streams where agent orange drained into.

I was born four years after my father's return from Vietnam in 1970.

I was special education for most of my school years, have Asperger's Syndrome a form of autism, attention problems, memory problems, flat feet, a deformity of the jaw, high blood pressure, diabetes, and an enlarged heart.

Anonymous said...

I am the daughter of a male Vietnam Vet who passed away in 2006 at the age of 58 from cancer caused by agent orange. The government even sent an apology letter to my step mother after he passed. I have stage 4 endometreosis, poly cystic ovary syndrome and RSD (CRPS). There is not a family history of any of them. I know it has to do with agent orange. The specialist treating my endo is doing studies now on agent orange causing endo in vets daughters.

Anonymous said...

I am the 36 year old daughter of a 4 tour veteran exposed to agent orange and considered 100% disabled. I am only now beginning to make connections between many of my physical and mental health issues and the exposure and I am sad and angry for all of us. I am ashamed of our government and their refusal to care for us. I suffer debilitating borderline personality disorder which comes as a package deal with severe anxiety, social anxiety, depression, compulsive and obsessive tendencies, agoraphobia, insomnia, apnea, chronic pain, pre-diabetes and was born with a deforemed extra vertebrae and flat feet. I have seriously always considered myself to be pretty healthy until about a year ago and the fact that these issues could be related to the exposure is frustrating and infuriating considering that my CHAMPVA benefits ran out when I turned 18 almost 19 years ago when I had no idea what was in store and I have wracked up over $5000 in mental health bills alone (no presriptions, I am on a different path) in the last 9 months. People are suffering everywhere not only because of this exposure, but in many instances, because of what it and the war did to our parents. My father suffered from terrifying PTSD and likely more which was undiagnosed and he became increasingly mentally unstable over the years. It is unconscionable that the families of this disaster are left to deal with these things on our own.

Anonymous said...

I have four children; two were conceived before nam. The other two who were born when he came home, yes, from dropping AO, now have horrid cysts not only on their backs but in the private areas; one has a astigmatism in his eye.

Anonymous said...

I am the daughter of a 3 tour Vietnam vet. I suffer from leaning disabilities, severe ADHD with Aspergers traits, depression, Ankylosing Spondylitis, and a near chiari malformation that restricts the blood flow to my brain but not severe enough to warrant surgery. I have 6 children, 4 of whom also have ADHD, aspergers symptoms, and learning disabilities.
I find it hypocritical and irresponsible for our government to demand so much of it's citizens while they refuse to be held accountable for the damage they have caused the very people who have sacrificed so much to ensure the freedom of this Country. It has made hostages of it's own soldiers, their families, and their descendants and has placed them in a camp of deceit, confusion, pain, and poverty as thanks for their service.

Anonymous said...

I noticed you listed flat feet, is this one of the recognized defects? Along with the flat feet, my left foot turned in so bad I could not walk properly as an infant & toddler. I had to see a specialist for braces. This was never linked to my dad's service at the time. I also suffer from chronic lower back pain so bad that I can't lay down flat & sit up without bringing myself to tears. My husband things I whim a lot but I'm always in pain so I just try to keep it to myself.
At this point, my dad is unemployable & is working on 100 percent disabled. I can't see as though this will help me any at this point. Just not feeling very optimistic!

Anonymous said...

I am the child of a Vietnam Veteran myself, I am now 43. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease/Ulcerative Colitis. The doctors told my parents and myself that my disease was so aggressive due to my Dad's exposure. My father and I was diagnosed with the same Auto-immune thyroid disease, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is hypothyroidism. I also suffer from fibromyalgia. I have many unexplained muscular and joint pains, unexplained pancreatitis and chest wall inflammation, pericarditis/endocarditis. I wish I could have proof that these disorders are related and caused by my Dad's exposure.

Anonymous said...

Hello! I am also a daughter of a Vietnam Vet who is fighting for his life! My brother has kidney stones and had a massive stroke at 33 years old! I have bipolar, social phobia, ADD, PTSD, Anxiety/panic attacks, Suicidal, Chronic kidney disease and have had about 16+ surgeries because of stones and going sepsis and almost dying 4-5 times, I also have had a knee surgery for Chondro Malacia Petella, bone spurs and extra bones in my feet and Plantar Facitisis, Degenerative disk disease, Thyroid disease, I had an inlarged uterus that was 3 times bigger than normal and endimetriosis and a uterine fibroid, plus cysts on both ovaries... I also have had a Total hysterectomy. I have extra bones in my feet and tail bone... Sinusitis and had a nose surgery too, Costiocondritis, tonsillitis many times and strep, I have Diverticulosis and a cyst behind my left eye with a lot of vision changes, Fibromyalgia, Chronic pain every where and have had a trigger finger release. I have a daughter with ADHD, ODD, and I think she is bipolar too... I am 100% disabled and filed for AO too and I am not too optimistic either about being helped! I can't get pain meds, but am on many other medications...

Unknown said...

My father was exposed to agent orange. I was concieved as soon as he got home from Vietnam. I have astigmatisms in both eyes, am diabetic, have had more than one stroke and have the cysts on my back that everyone else has mentioned. My dad when he was alive said the VA told him that his diabetes was from his exposure and they told himvthat I would be affected too

Anonymous said...

I have multiple sclerosis and neither side of my family has never been diagnosed with this auto amune disease. My father served 2 yrs 1963-65 and I was born in 1968 explains alot always wondered u ntill my father had 8 things on the list and did research va considers MS for our Vietnam Veterans. Im filing the paperwork for myself and still waiting for my Fathers service connection.he had a massive stroke and it has also affected his speech please keep all Veterans in your prayers! Bless our military and all they shouldn't go through!

Anonymous said...

I am 37. My dad was in Vietnam for two tours. I am perfectly healthy, but my dad died of a heart attack at 46 years old. I was only 10. Heart issues do run in our family, but no one died that young before. I must add my dad did smoke and drink a lot after Vietnam, and these things did not help. He did have PTSD but it wasn't recognized back then. A lot would have turned out differently if it had been. That makes me upset. Anyway, I do have anxiety/panic and an addictive personality. Hyperlipidemia and pre-hypertension. I figured this was all just genetic. Not sure how much AO my dad was exposed to. He was infantry (mech).

Anonymous said...

Hi just joined group,I am a 35 year old female, my dad served in Vietnam. I also suffer from kidney stones I get one or two about every couple months. I have medullary sponge kidney , a birth defect I was born with and renal tubular acidosi, chronic back pain and anxiety. My question is, are these side effects from AO.

Unknown said...

Iam a child former Marine. He has been advised that all of his medical issues are from the AO exposure. He was finally "upgraded?" To 100% disabled and the Dr.'s at the VA told my dad that he would in fact die from AO exposure. I've lived with Illnesses, all my life, just need a helping hand in sorting it all out. My mother has more medical info from when I was a child because either I've blocked out all those needles or don't remember. That's my life, not being able to remember conversations that I've had within hours. I'm constantly asking my husband of 15 years the same questions over and over. I had a miscarriage at 26 (my mom also suffered a miscarriage before having me) At 27 when my husband and I were ready to try again, I was dx'd with Breast Cancer. The list goes on and on all the way to my most recent diagnosis of PTSD. I'm not sure if I've always been predetermined as having PTSD as I've always had an anxiety disorder. It was not confirmed until I was attacked leaving a beast cancer benefit in Oct 2012. I'm not sure if this is a mental imbalance from my father's exposure and was not diagnosed from a generic anxiety / panic disorder to full blown PTSD when the attack happened. I do know now that I'm not crazy and it makes more sense to me why I was the ONE in the family to be diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Please keep me in mind if you ever need a face for any of the Agent Orange Legacy. I'd be more than happy to tell my story to anyone if it will help educate and get people to take notice of how our Vietnam vets suffered and if still living, it's not a quality life at all. My mom had to retire from a 2nd job that she wanted to be able to travel during her and my dad's retirement years. Agent Orange has stolen my parents retirement years and also stole any hope of having grandchildren. It just so sad. I look forward to seeing some updates on this site and the many other sites I've found when my mom provided a couple Facebook pages that led me here to you for help. I work Monday thru Friday. I have a hard time because of all the surgeries that cause me to have a life sentence of chronic debilitating pain. I worry that when I'm out from work (giant company) that they want to fire me because I do have these medical issues ... I've used all of my FMLA protection for the year and I won't get another day covered until sometime in August. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If there is job where you could provide my husband and I with medical insurance and pay a decent salary, please let me know. I've been at my current Job for almost 10 years now and that's a record for me. I have my pension and 401k thru my job. I had a plan to retire from this company in 30 to 40 years if 30 years I'll be 70. I hope I don't have to work until 70. Oh and my dad was in Vietnam in 69 and was released on his 21st birthday from being injured by a grenade. My dad told me many stories about his time overseas, he never put 2 and 2 together on the agent orange stories he told me. He would tell me that they could not see past enemy lines because of all of the foliage (not his words on that part, foliage) but was trying to describe how little they could see. Then he saw the planes dropping chemicals all over the wooded / jungle areas where he was at. He said they'd see the very next day how they could see for miles. We started our talks about Vietnam when I was around 10 or 11. So my dad has been talking about agent orange for years prior to all this multimedia started bringing all these illnesses that are directly related to our Father's who served our country with no questions. Now it's time to talk about it and take action to help the spouses of their AO exposed spouses. What's my mom to do? I think they should send a nurse to watch over my dad in case my mom can't help him when he falls. She has her own medical issues to deal with. My sister lives close to he able to help out with VA appts.

Unknown said...

Had to cut short and make my post look like a run on sentence because of the character limit. Let me know if I deleted too much and if you need any additional info from me to help out as much as I can.

Thanks again for bringing all of this to social media where it can be exposed and also expose how badly our Vietnam vets were treated when they did return. Prior to and after Vietnam, there were always welcome home signs made and warm welcoming hugs to our service men during their tours ... our Vietnam vets deserved to have that same reception and celebration for stepping up and servicing our country as instructed to do. My dad was not drafted, we volunteered to serve his country and chose to be one of the few, the proud, a Marine! Semper-fi dad! (Douglas Schmidt AKA "the kid" when active military.

Unknown said...

Have the cysts gotten any better? I have them too. On my back, jaw line and groin area (those are painful because they are right on the crease where undergarments go. Please let me know ... I've found a supplement that has helped some it's called Pantothen .. I've noticed a decrease with the groin breakouts. It was also working on the ones on my jaw and behind ears. Now the one I have on my back ... that one won't go away. I've had surgery for it to reappear. I hope your son has received some relief. If they do surgery, you'll want to tell them to make sure they get all of it because you don't want to have to do it again on that same spot. Please let me know if I can provide you with any additional info.

Unknown said...

Yep, they just told my dad that he is now 100% disabled and that when he dies, it will be from AO exposure. It's sad because I know how he and my mom looked forward to their retirement years. They both worked and made plans to travel. I feel that the government and the agent orange has stolen their retirement years and that's what makes me sad.

I am also sad that my dad blames himself for mine and my sisters medical issues.

It's just sad for anyone who has been affected by agent orange.

Anonymous said...

My dad was in Nam and actually had AO dumped on them. He now has 100% disability from it. He was there in 1968 and 69 in the 1st infantry ( big red 1) and I was born in 1971. I have had an ovary removed due to cysts, crohns disease and blood disorders. I believe it's because of the AO

Unknown said...

I was only in Vietnam for 6 weeks, in the Summer of 1968. Nonetheless I have at least 5 conditions that are recognized for Agent Orange either directly or on appeal. One of those is chronic allergic rhinitis (since the late 1970s, with no explanation and no cure). And I'm now worried about my daughter who has developed an unexplained food allergy in her esophagus that seems to be somewhat similar to crohns disease, but isn't that. As soon as I get my own claim set up I'll see what I can do to get my daughter's claim filed.

Anonymous said...

I know my father served in Vietnan. I have little info about what, where, when or how. I know my father did become disabled due to serious respiratory issues. He died very
young having an "asthma" episode during a
stormy winter night at home. Growing up without my father was painful. And still. I have many questions about exposure and consequences of agent orange.

Anonymous said...

No the idiots were the Bush era, you must not know politics well or have any medical
background, if you do that means your just an angry soul. My dad went to Vietnam and have many medical conditions like other Vietnam offspring.

Christie Tilley said...

I am a 44 year old female and my father was exposed to AO during 1966-67.(I was born in '69) I was recently diagnosed with Eosinophilic esophagitis, after years of choking on food, even water. I have had my esophagus stretched twice and will have to endure the procedure for the rest of my life. I have also developed Petechiae on my forearms and back. My father is convinced is due to his exposed to AO.

Amanda said...

I am the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran who's father was US Navy Sailor in the early 70s.He was not presumed to be exposed to agent orange. His ship is not on the list for blue water. His ship was exposed to Agent Orange about seven years before he got on it. His Navel base was superfunded. He died at the age of 58. He had heart disease, enlarged heart, vascular disease and a host of other problems. I have many rare birth defects to list that no other family members have and are gross percentage found as familial. I know every bit of it is connected to Agent Orange and other harmful toxins he was exposed to. I am heartbroken.

Anonymous said...

I just read your message. My dad was a Vietnam veteran too. I had endometreosis which led to a complete hysterectomy. If your Dr wants more victims to study I would be happy to give my information. Thanks. Bridget

Ryan Nolte said...

My father is a Vietnam Vet and has been receiving compensation and VA benefits for prostate cancer associated with Agent Orange exposure. I have Type 1 diabetes, diagnosed in 1987, and I am the only person on either side of my family with this disease. My father was in Vietnam in 1969-1970 and I was born in 1973. I am happy to complete the benefits form, knowing that it will be rejected, but I am wondering if any headway has been made in establishing type 1 diabetes as a potential defect in the children of male Vietnam vets.

Anonymous said...

My sister in law in perfectly healthy herself but has had more miscarriages and pregnancy terminations due to spina bifida than we know of (at last count we *think* she has lost 12 pregnancies and had a still birth). Her father (my wife's step father) is 100% disabled and has had testicular cancer and a heart transplant. Frankly, we are amazed he is still alive!

Anonymous said...

I am the daughter of a male Vietnam War Veteran. My father returned home in January of 1968. In 1969 my older brother was born with down syndrome and holes in his heart. My parents were 19 when he was born. He died when he was 2 due to complications from pneumonia. I was born in 1973. I was healthy for the most part, but when I was 6 months old my parents noticed I wasn't sleeping like an infant should. Doctors just said I was fussy. My mother stopped putting me down for naps because I wouldn't sleep at night if she did. Around the age of 1 my parents noticed I was getting sick often and suffered from severe allergies and had to receive shots quite often due to the allergies. Around the age of 2-3 I had to undergo surgery to lengthen my achilles tendon in both legs and had to wear casts on both legs at same time for 6 weeks. I then started bruising for no reason and getting bloody noses. Doctors asked if my parents were abusing me and of course they never did. After numerous painful tests including a bone marrow extraction, which is painful and terrifying for anyone but as a 3 yr old that fear and experience stays with you forever. I didn't have leukemia it was ITP. I had learning disabilities, couldn't concentrate or stay focused on anything for long, severe insomnia, central sleep apnea, sleep walking, just recently my partner noticed I would slip into a sleep walking state out of nowhere, depressed, overly sensitive, my thought process was totally different from others. I started not speaking in class or in any normal situation, I didn't and still don't have many friends, I'm an introvert, I have neuropathy in legs and arms and spreading quickly, I don't have one good disc in my spine, had 1st surgery on lumbar when I was 24, I have dental problems now when I never even had a cavity it feels like the bones my teeth are in. My father NEVER spoke about his time in Vietnam. He was an alcoholic and troubled but we never spoke of it. My father killed himself in 1991, the weekend of Veterans Day. My parents did have 2 other children in 1978, twins, a boy and girl. Both seemed healthy and happy and normal. After my mother died in 1997, my brother turned to drugs. He joined the Army and went to Iraq. When he came home he was even more addicted to drugs. He was injured and the doctors kept him on pain meds. He checked himself into rehab got his 6 month chip of sobriety and a few weeks after leaving rehab in 2009 he died from an overdose. NO ONE can honestly tell me and make me believe that our problems have absolutely nothing to do with my father serving in Vietnam and being exposed to all the poisons that they were ALL exposed to. I've learned to accept my problems, what I can't and won't accept are all the Veterans that have ended their own lives and still go unrecognized and unappreciated.

Nebula said...

My dad is a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Army. I was raped when I was 23 and became pregnant from that. I miscarried and learned from my doctor that I would never be able to carry to term or have a baby if I wanted to. Could this be from agent orange?

Anonymous said...

I'm a fifteen year old boy, currently enrolled in high school and heading into the 10th grade. My father was a Vietnam veteran and was a combat medic, I found proof he was deployed at some point to Southeast Asia near the Cambodian border. Anyway I suffer from a severe learning disability with math, and algebra related material ever since I was a little kid. I was suggested testing by my pediatrician when I was about 9 or 10 years old to see if I had ADHD or ADD since I constantly got out of my seat and school and argued with teachers. They found I had none of the above and said I simply was a child who was too smart for my own good. I was also tested by a psychiatrist when I was about 10 and he claimed to say I was emotionally disturbed however this came six years after my father passed away from pulmonary endema and cardiac arrest though he was constantly in the gym and lived a healthy lifestyle. I have heard the correlation in Vietnam vets and deaths related to pulmonary endemas and cardiac arrest before.